The new campus will eventually accommodate between 4 000 and 5 000 students. Image credit: BPAS Architects

BPAS Architects has been appointed to design a comprehensive education campus in Durbanville for STADIO Higher Education. 

Planning and designing the education hub from scratch is no small task.  

Cape Town-based firm, BPAS Architects, will leverage its architectural design experience in the education sector. Their full service offering includes interior design and landscaping. 

Re-thinking higher education facilities 

Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)-listed higher education provider STADIO plans to develop a new comprehensive campus in Durbanville in the Western Cape, with the first phase set to launch in mid-2025.  

Offering qualifications spanning from education to IT, law, media and design, commerce, architecture and engineering, the campus will eventually accommodate between 4 000 and 5 000 students.  

Landseer Collen, founder and principal architect at BPAS, says an opportunity like this does not often come along – the chance to design a flagship campus from start to finish.  

“The idea is to design the campus holistically, rather than expanding an existing building. This is refreshing as most campuses have developed one faculty at a time,” he says. 

The campus design is completely pedestrianised and open to all students. Image credit: BPAS Architects

Community integration 

BPAS researched other universities and education institutions to learn from what has worked, and what has not. The firm knows that a campus has to be integrated into a community.  

“We have to factor in student life, the wider northern suburbs hub developing in Durbanville and ensure that we develop this into a precinct, rather than a group of academic buildings and facilities,” says Collen. 

BPAS focusses on people-centred design, and this has informed the approach to the STADIO campus, which aims to prioritise its users and ensure good “flow” throughout. Even though the space has been designed for a comprehensive institution, the campus will be developed in three phases with plans for potential future expansions.  

Design approach 

Collen explains: “When it comes to the buildings, we’ve used the ground floor as a public sphere. Essentially, the campus is built vertically instead of horizontally, as is the case with most traditional universities. 

“As you move up in the building, there is a sense of increased privacy, so you’ll find lecture halls and classrooms on higher floors. On the ground floor, the campus is completely pedestrianised and open to all students. Shared facilities such as the cafeteria and library are all at ground level.” 

Connected classrooms 

Collen says BPAS has ensured that each classroom has a relationship with the environment around it, tapping into the idea that where you learn, shapes how you learn.  

“For example, we’ve designed the services building, where the generator and solar power batteries will be housed, in such a way that it can still be used as a classroom space. We believe it’s a great practical space for engineering students to learn about how buildings work – and that becomes part of the academic furniture.” 

Bespoke workspaces 

The campus will include laboratories and bespoke workspaces for its various schools, such as workshops for engineering students and technology labs for IT students.  

The concept of the staircase as more than a vertical connector inspired the design of an atrium that blends movement with gathering spaces. While it fulfils the original purpose of a vertical channel to move people from point A to point B, it’s also an amphitheatre, with integrated seating built in. There is room for people to move through the space, but also to sit in it. 

From the left are Chris Vorster, STADIO’s CEO, Dr Chris van der Merwe, non-executive director of STADIO Holdings and Landseer Collen at the sod-turning ceremony for the new STADIO Higher Education campus.

Educational precinct 

Given that the STADIO campus is linked to the Curro Durbanville school campus via an underpass, Collen says the wider area can be viewed as an educational precinct. “There will be certain shared sports facilities, and both areas border on commercial and mixed-use nodes.” 

BPAS believes this educational precinct will be well-positioned to serve the rapidly growing economy in the northern suburbs, including the planned Cape Winelands Airport. Instead of having to travel to a public university, pupils who attend school in the area now have the option of studying close to home. 

Education focussed 

STADIO has been open to engaging consultations. They have given BPAS architectural freedom to think differently about the campus in comparison to traditional education institutions, allowing fresh ideas. 

“BPAS is proud to collaborate with an institution that is addressing the student challenge of getting accepted into higher education institutions in the Western Cape. It’s exciting to be part of this new development, which addresses the needs of South Africa’s youth. We look forward to turning our designs into reality,” he says.  

“This partnership is in alignment with our experience and growth. We started with preschools, we then nurtured from preschools to high school, and then ventured into tertiary education,” concludes Collen.  

A new comprehensive campus is being developed in Durbanville, Western Cape, with a focus on community integration and a people-centred design approach from BPAS Architects. 

Full acknowledgement and thanks go to https://www.bpas.co.za/ for the information in this article.